“On Jan. 10, Sen. Shapiro reneged on her promises of a public endorsement, of her political support and of her financial support,” O’Grady told the newspaper. “She said she had to look out for her family who lives in the district. I was disappointed because her support was a major reason why I was running in this race.”

Shapiro, who is stepping down from the Senate to pursue other opportunities, provided a different tale, telling the Star-Courier that she never promised to endorse anyone. She said that she provided advice to O’Grady, but said she would not offer a public endorsement.

“After [O'Grady] announced he was running we had a total of about five meetings where I tried to educate him on the issues,” Shapiro told the Star-Courier. “I listened to him and talked with him about what his strengths were and what his weaknesses were. I spent time with him because he said this was something he really wanted to pursue.”

O’Grady was facing an uphill climb in the GOP primary against state Rep. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, who has cinched a number of key endorsements. O’Grady suspended his bid on Monday just days after O’Grady’s key consultant, Bryan Eppstein, left the campaign.

He first stepped into politics last year when he announced plans to run for a newly-created state House seat encompassing Collin and Rockwall counties. But he switched his sights to the Senate seat after Shapiro announced she was stepping down.

A former Air Force captain, O’Grady made national headlines and the cover of TIME magazine in the 1990s when his F-16 fighter was shot down over Bosnia. His subsequent evasion of capture and rescue were the basis for the movie, Behind Enemy Lines.

We’ve reached out to O’Grady and Shapiro’s office. We’ll update this post if and when we hear more.